ROCHESTER, Minn. - The number of day-care providers helping to raise the bar on quality early childhood in Minnesota has now surpassed one-thousand. The providers are enrolled in the voluntary rating program called "Parent Aware."

Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson remarked that the voluntary rating system helps providers stay up to date and helps parents more easily find high-quality care and early education.

"I want people to know," she declared, "they should look for quality-rated child care homes because their kids are going to get off to a better start and be more prepared for kindergarten if they do."

Jesson said kids who are ready when they get to kindergarten have better odds for future success, and that's important to all Minnesotans.

In Olmstead County, the program was put in place last year and one of the top-rated programs in that area thus far is Underbakke's "Little Tykes Daycare" in Rochester. That's where Erin Underbakke and her husband take care of a dozen children, from four months to nine years

"I'm always taking different trainings and trying to stay on top of everything," Erin Underbakke said. "This just shows that the providers who are doing this are willing to take an extra step and further their education to help get these kids ready for school."

The Parent Aware rating system is set to go statewide next year.

More information on the program and those providers taking part can be found online at ParentAwareRatings.org.





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For many in Nebraska's child-care industry, which was struggling even before the pandemic, the "Child Care Stabilization" funds in the American Rescue Plan Act made a huge difference. The money must be disbursed by Sept. 30, causing concern about a "funding cliff" for child care.

Catherine Huddleston-Casas, Ph.D., associate director of workforce planning and development at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, said the pandemic shone a light on the "poverty wages" many child-care workers receive. She said some found they could make better money in less-demanding jobs.

"The knowledge and expertise that is developed through the process of working under a seasoned child-care provider - all of that is going to be lost if we don't do something to try to keep our providers in their positions," she said.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services distributed the stabilization funds in a variety of ways, including stipends to employees at licensed child-care centers, and grants to center owners and staff to help pay down school loans. In a survey of Nebraska providers, 87% reported receiving some COVID relief money in the previous year, and most had used it for rent and utilities. Today, Nebraska has 10% fewer child-care programs than before the pandemic.

Grants also helped centers expand their capacity. Ninety-one-percent of Nebraska counties have a shortage of licensed child-care slots, and 11 counties have no licensed providers.

Susan Sarver, Ph.D., director of workforce planning and development at the Buffett Institute, said the way funds were disbursed may help the state experience a less severe "funding cliff" than it might have.

"Some states are still maintaining centers, so they're paying wages through those pandemic funds," she said, "and when that money disappears, those are the places that are going to have the biggest drop."

Sarver acknowledged that only when there's data to examine will it be possible to evaluate the sustainability of Nebraska's approach.

Huddleston-Casas authored a recent study showing the gap to fully fund Nebraska's early-childhood care and education grew from 51% in 2017 to 57% in 2021. She said there won't be any quick fixes, but examination of the current system is crucial, including the way it's funded. She considers this especially important because of what we've learned about child development.

"They're not just passive recipients; there's a lot going on in a baby's brain," she said. "But in what ways does the system we have give us the opportunity to do better? Or are we stuck with a system that doesn't know how to accommodate the developmental needs of children?"

To help combat learning loss and strengthen early literacy in Tennessee, the Gov.'s Early Literacy Foundation is spearheading efforts to promote literacy among children to ensure they develop strong reading skills throughout the summer.

In May, 60% of Tennessee third graders fail short of proficiency on the TCAP reading test, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.

James Pond, president of the Governor's Early Literacy Foundation, said it recognizes the critical role early literacy plays in a child's overall academic success, and it is committed to ensuring all children in Tennessee have access to the resources they need to become lifelong learners.

"Our organization provides a K-3 home library program and which every rising first, second and third grader and soon to be kindergartner receive a summer book packet of three fiction, three nonfiction books, along with great resources for that child and their caregivers to engage with those books and create comprehension and learning," Pond outlined.

Pond added the books included in packets are selected by their Educator Advisory Council, made up of 28 educators from across the state. The Educator Advisory Council also creates the resources and activity sheets provided along with the books. He noted throughout the summer it will deliver 1.2 million books to more than 200,000 students, teachers and librarians statewide.

Pond pointed out for 20 years, it has managed Dolly Parton's Imagination Library for the state, which gives books free of charge to children from birth to age five until they reach kindergarten age. He added they are also providing books and resources to children in rural underserved communities.

"We're actually looking at some of our higher-needs populations," Pond explained. "We will be working with the Latino community across the state. We're going to be launching a pilot project to really look at what are the additional supports that some of our higher-needs groups' needs are, and then meeting those needs as much as we possibly can."

Pond emphasized his organization developed the Statewide Early Literacy Education Collaborative of Tennessee, or SELECT, which brings together all of their statewide partners to work on collaboration around literacy. He added they also collaborate with the Tennessee Department of Education for the Decodables initiative, which provides at-home reading resources for free to families of kindergarten to second grade students.


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Missourians scored some big wins for child care and pre-K programs in the 2023 legislative session, although some said it is just a start.

Brian Schmidt, executive director of the group Kids Win Missouri, called it a "really exciting time" for child care and early childhood education in the state. He attributes a lot of the legislative gains, including a combined $160 million for child care subsidies and pre-K programs, to the child care crisis exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.

"Seventy-three counties in Missouri are considered child care deserts," Schmidt pointed out. "I think it's really just an impact of the pandemic, where a lot of the child care facilities are just struggling to find and recruit a workforce."

Schmidt added Gov. Mike Parson identified expanding early-childhood programs as a priority. Ideally, he said, the $78.5 million to increase child care subsidies will be an incentive for more child care centers to take part in the subsidy program, increasing the options for low-income Missouri families. And regarding the additional $82 million for pre-K programs, Schmidt noted it "far exceeds" any previous legislative proposals for pre-K.

He added the pre-K funding was designed to provide families with options.

"Fifty-six million is for school districts, and then the other $26 million is for child care facilities," Schmidt outlined. "Families could potentially have some options to choose the setting that best fits their needs."

Robin Phillips, CEO of the nonprofit Child Care Aware of Missouri, lauded the funding but has concerns about what will happen when American Rescue Plan Act funds expire in a little more than a year.

She argued the child care system is a "broken business model," with no funding formula behind community-based child care. In addition to higher operating costs for food, gas, utilities and rent, Phillips pointed to providers' struggle to maintain a workforce.

"You have to have so many teachers for the number of children depending on the age range; you must have, for licensing," Phillips emphasized. "And yet, when you pay all those expenses, you're left with very little to pay teachers at about $12 an hour. That's not a livable wage."

Calling the child care system "very complex and layered," Phillips added a bridge needs to be built to keep the progress going.

"There are great and significant investments happening, and we still have a lot of work to do," Phillips acknowledged. "Because two years, three years of federal relief money doesn't fix 40 years of fragmentation."


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